The IUS baseball team was narrowly defeated by the Mighty Oaks of Oakland City University, with a final score of 10-9 on April 2.

“I think they just showed up here because they had to,” Ben Reel, IUS baseball head coach, said. “They didn’t show up to win.”

However, the Grenadiers put up a strong fight before the end of the game.

The score was 10-6 at the bottom of the ninth, and the Grenadiers were at bat.

The Grenadiers quickly scored a run, but the Mighty Oaks got two outs. The score was 10-7, and the bases were loaded.

“Oh my goodness, they might actually win,” Rhea Coulter, grandmother of one of the Grenadier players, said during the game.

The batter hit a grounder, allowing two Grenadier players to score runs, making the score 10-9.

During the last play in the game, there was a runner on third. The batter hit the pitch, but Oakland City University coordinated efficiently to get him out, thus ending the game.

Reel said he was not pleased with his players’ performance.

“They have no killer instinct,” Reel said.

Reel said he believes the Grenadiers underestimated the Mighty Oaks.

“They think that [the Mighty Oaks] will just give us the win because they’re on the road,” Reel said. “It’s been this way the entire season. I love these guys, and they have really improved, but there’s no sense of urgency. They’re not coming out here to win.”

Reel said he had given the politically correct answer regarding his team’s performance.

The Grenadiers suffered greatly during the first half of the game. During the first inning, the score was 0-0.

However, the Mighty Oaks scored two runs at the top of the second inning.

Reel was visibly upset when Oakland City scored their first run at the top of the second inning, and he talked to his pitcher after the play.

The Grenadiers threw a high number of ball pitches and had a very low number of strikeouts.

The Grenadiers also hit the Mighty Oaks’s batters with the ball several times during the game.

“A lot of players got hit,” Coulter said. “[The Grenadiers] also had problems getting their players on bases.”

The Grenadiers were able to keep the Mighty Oaks players from stealing many bases throughout the game.

The Mighty Oaks performed well at defending their bases from the Grenadiers.

As the weather slowly got colder, the Grenadiers’ prospects grew bleaker, and the Mighty Oaks continued scoring runs while the Grenadiers were unable to score at all.

By the top of the sixth inning, the Oakland City University team was leading, 7-0.

However, at the bottom of the sixth inning, the Grenadiers began to close the gap.  The Grenadiers managed to keep the bases full throughout the sixth inning.

The Mighty Oaks began to throw a lot of balls, leading to two walks which later resulted in two runs for IU Southeast. The Grenadiers also scored another two runs, making the score 7-4.

However, Oakland City came back with a vengeance during the top of the seventh inning, scoring two runs.

At the bottom of the seventh inning, the Grenadiers pushed back with equal force, scoring two points, as well.

However, the Mighty Oaks scored their last run of the game during the top of eighth inning, making the score 10-6.

The Grenadiers also lost their previous game to the Mighty Oaks when they played them on April 1 at Oakland City University and lost, 8-3.

“It has been a hit-and-miss season,” Roberta Craig, mother of Kyle Craig, freshman pitcher, said.

Kyle Craig’s father, John Craig, commented on the difficulty of the game.

“They have been playing some tough games,” John Craig said. “They have had some difficulties and have had some stiff competition.”

The Grenadiers’ current record is 17-17.

By BRADLEY COOPER

Staff

bradcoop@ius.edu